A Daddy's Boy - HIATUS
by Fae 206
Summary: It was a busy, dark, cold, night when Ren told Kyoko he loved her. However, Kyoko wasn't ready to accept the love and truth about Ren's true name and when that causes her to nearly get hit by a vehicle, Ren sacrifices his own life to save hers. Now paraplegic with head trauma, Ren is finding life a lot harder than before. Still, when it comes to his son, one man can't be stopped.
1. Intro

**AN: **This _is_ going to have some minor Kyoko and Ren scenes but is mainly about Kuu and Kuon and memories of little Kuon's life. I hope you enjoy.

**A Daddy's Boy**

**Intro**

I feel the rain roll down my back and soak my hair, my mind is getting foggy and I wish that I wasn't standing on a street corner among the cars driving by with Mogami-san. I wish that I could tell her properly, one of the ways in which I rehearsed it in my head. I look at her and she stares at me before glaring at me. It's not something that is showing she hates me but that somehow I have lost her trust, I know that it's because I haven't been honest with her until this point.

"Why did you say that?" she asks as she looks at me and I try to wipe the rain away from my face. "Why did you tell me that and ruin everything?"

"I told you that I love you," I repeat and she nods, standing there stubbornly. I don't understand why she is so angry about that. I knew that she has a problematic relationship with that emotion but I tried to do it as carefully as possible.

I hear the beeps of the cars in the rain and I reach forward to her, "Mogami-san, can we just…" I gesture with my head for us to go out of the rain but she shakes her head again, now crossing her arms over her chest.

"No," she tells me as her eyes sparkle with tears, "Who are you?" she asks and I take a step back. I wasn't expecting her to ask that. I hear someone else running towards us and I don't know how to maneuver the situation any longer. I see his blond hair but I also see her face and realize that she needs to know. I wish it wasn't like this.

"My proper name," I tell her as I look to the side, at least _he_ can't hear me right at this moment. "I was born with the name Hizuri Kuon," I tell her and her eyes widen. She shakes her head and I know how she's feeling but it's more complicated than she thinks it is. I didn't betray her on purpose. "I can't explain-"

I feel the rain beat harder down and see her panic and turn to run. My eyes follow her and I see him running towards her. They've always been destined for one another, right? I just came in and interrupted on their time together. I want to turn away. I don't want to see thi -

_Hoooonk_

I turn and see there is a delivery truck which is losing control of its wheels. There's going to be an accident. It needs to be stopped somehow. I freeze as Kyoko runs blindly in front of the truck and my body moves like lightning. I can imagine Rick flying through the air but I can't let Kyoko do that. She deserves the type of life that Rick deserved and never got. I'm further from her than Fuwa but he's just standing and watching.

I have to move. No matter what it costs me, I have to get her out of the way. It's like the world has slowed down and my feet are moving as quick as possible. I manage to shove her away and see him catch her, embracing her. That's when I can feel it, something slam into my body. I get tossed into the air and my body comes down on the hood of a car, at least that's what I think I'm feeling.

My body rolls off of the car, the pain in my head feels as if someone cut into my scalp with a rusty saw, and I can't hold on any longer. I'm feeling a massive amount of pain. My mind is blurry. I hear people screaming. I see lights. There's pain through my body that I don't remember. I think….I think I might be dying…

"I'm sorry, Mom," I whisper before sinking into blackness.

**End of Intro**

**Thank you for reading, reviews are appreciated **


	2. Chapter 1 - Our Son

**AN:** I'm not ready to explain the condition that Kuon's in but the Hizuri couple aren't wrong in what they're thinking, for the most part.

**Chapter One – Our Son**

"I look forwards to working with both of you gentlemen again," I smile to the producer and one of the casting agents as I stand and shake each by their hand. I've been cast in one of the biggest action movies of the year which will start filming in about five months which usually means I'm their top pick. I'll be acting across from some well-known actors and I'm excited.

This is going to be seen everywhere and there are some murmurs about it being Oscar worthy. I would really love to get my hands on one of the Academy Awards. I grab my coat and walk out having signed the contracts. I'm feeling powerful. People want me in this country. It's a great thing.

As I step out, I turn my phone on and my eyes widen. Boss has been calling me and left several voice mail messages but the texts are what draw my attention most.

_Shuuhei, call me at your earliest convience._

_This is important, Shuuhei, call me as soon as you're able._

_It involves him. Call me ASAP_

My body freezes. I know very well who he means by _him_ and the fact that Boss has called me so many times puts me on high alert. I retreat to an isolated corner and try to call him. It must be the middle of the night in Japan. Something feels wrong in my gut and I try to keep my body still and calm but there's that feeling of nervousness that only comes if you're a parent.

I get him on the second ring and hear him answer, I feel the question about to rip out from my stomach and I hold the phone in my hands. "You said it involves…him…" I ask feeling myself shaking. I hear Boss's tone. Something bad has happened. Something bad has happened to him.

"Ren Tsuruga is in critical condition at the hospital and has been rushed to the emergency room," Boss tells me and I freeze. Emergency room? Please tell me this is a minor injury such as a pull of his leg. No. They wouldn't tell me something so trivial. "What happened?"

"He was struck by a delivery vehicle," Boss says and my eyes widen. "He was thrown onto another car, I believe, and from there hit the ground. He's currently on life support."

My body becomes absolutely frozen and I feel cold ice pricking from inside of me. My eyes are wide and I feel nauseous. There's a chance that I'll never be able to hold Kuon in my arms again or tell him how loved he is. There's a chance that I won't be there for him when he dies. There's a chance that he'll die. I feel my throat hurt as I let a sob be heard. No. Kuon.

"What information did they gi-give you?" I ask. I want to fly over there, be with my little boy. Is it okay if I break the rules this time? Is it okay if I risk people identifying our relationship?

"He's unconscious and with a head wound that seems to be internal as well as on the outside. His back was severely injured by the crash and they are concerned that he might be quadriplegic or at least paraplegic." My eyes widen and I hold to the phone almost about to die inside. Quadriplegic? That's almost worse than being dead. "He's had to have a blood transfusion. He has a bruised lung. The doctors say that for him to recover, he's going to need to either go into assisted living or have a live-in nurse."

"No," I tell him slowly although it pains me as I look nervously in the direction of the office I have just exited. "No. Please refuse those options," I tell him and hear Boss sigh. "I'll do it, Julie and I will do it, we'll take care of him."

"Shuuhei," Boss says slowly as if he doesn't believe me, "Given the condition of his head, he will probably need special attention. Him going into a care facility would be best for him. I know how busy you and Julienna are."

"No….Julie and I," I try to convince him. I just want Boss to listen to me, "We'll take care of him. He's our child."

"Listen, I appreciate that you are offering," Boss says and I freeze. Is he not listening to me? "He could be facing some traumatic brain damage, you know how football players get i-"

"We'll learn," I argue. "He's my son. I want to take care of him no matter what it costs. You can't stop me from loving my son and if he needs to be taken care of then -"

"Talk to Juli and consider the options," Boss says and I grip the phone painfully. It's not rash to me. If he needs help then that's important to me and I'm getting angry at Boss for telling me how Kuon is going to be when he hasn't even gained consciousness. I need to be over there by my little boy. 

"I need to see him," I tell him and Boss sighs.

"Let's talk about this soon," he says and I can't believe this. Kuon is on _life support_. I need to be there before he dies. I take steady breaths.

"I'm going there. You know how much I care about him and his journey but I'm coming for my son when he needs me. You said he has a bruised lung and has already had a blood transfusion. I can donate blood to him, we have the same type. I don't care what you think. I need to be with him if he has been injured that badly."

Boss sighs, "I'll meet you at the airport," he tells me and I feel a slight relief. I end the phone call with him, my body shaking as I think about the cruelty that my son has had to endure and after he has worked so hard to move on from what happened when he was fifteen. I shiver before pressing speed dial 1 on my phone. I hear the sound of a busy fashion show but this is more important than that.

"Kuu, darling, I have to go soon. I can't really tal-" she tells me and I try to steady my breathing and tell her as calmly as possible.

"The subject, it's important," I tell her as I push my hand through my hair again but I'm sure that she can read through me. We've been able to read through each other for a long time. I need to tell her this despite the pain it will cause her. I can't bear for her to tell me that she hates me.

"I'm sure it's not that impor-"

"Kuon's been in an accident," I tell her and hear her inhale sharply. I hate having to tell her this and upset her but it's necessary. "Boss called me. He told me that Kuon was hit by a vehicle and that vehicle pushed him onto another and then onto the ground. He's on life support. Boss said he al—already had a blood tra—ranfus—fuison"

"I need to be with my son," Julie tells me and I nod slowly. I understand because I feel the same way. "Did the kidnapper tell you more about his injuries?" she says desperately before sobbing and I hate to interrupt her at a show. "It must be bad for him to call us. How is my poor baby?"

"Julie, finish the show then we'll tal-" I try to persuade her but she cuts me off again.

"I'll finish the show because finishing the show means that I'll get to be with him but I need to know. I'm his mother, I'll worry about him until I know," Jules argues again and I put a hand to my chest. I don't even know if we'll get there in time.

"Boss said he has a bruised lung, He has a severe back injury that will probably leave him paralyzed. He hit his head and might have sustained a TBI," I tell her and she sobs again. I just hope that she can finish her runway work. "Boss suggested that he go into an assisted living facility or that he hires around the clock care."

"No." Julie tells me stubbornly. "No. I'm his mother. I'll quit working before I force him to do that," she tells me and I can hear her strength in her voice. I always have loved that strength in her, that independence.

"His brain might not work in the same way," I tell her and hear her steady breathing. I hear the way she's feeling protective of our son. "He might have…a lowered IQ," I try to put it in a politically correct way.

"So what!?" she yells at me. "How dare you, Kuu Hizuri! Just because he's suffered brain damage, you think that he won't be Kuon? He's my baby. If he needs help, I'll give it to him. I don't care what the sacrifice costs. I carried him in me for nine months and we both raised him. Yes, he's independent, athletic, capable, intelligent but he's also kind and sympathetic and considerate. I don't care if I have to look after him for the rest of my life. I'm his mother and I'm proud to be his mother. I'll take care of him with your help or without. I can't believe you. I can't believe that you'd do this to him! If he survives, be happy with that!" she snaps and I know I feel the same way as her. I'm scared about the worst happening and Kuon's personality changing and his dependency needs flipping but he's my son. Nobody can replace him. Nothing will change my unconditional love for him.

"Should I meet you after the show?" I ask and she takes deep breaths and I can hear her trying to stop her tears. Maybe I should have waited until after the show but I know that she would want to know as soon as possible.

"Yes, we'll go home after, grab what we need and leave to see him," she says. "I'm only doing this runway show because I know after it ends, I can see my baby."

"I love you," I whisper and hear her sniff as she tries to control her tears.

"I love you too," she replies as the call ends and I just want for everything to be okay. After he's tried so hard to create his own life, he's had it taken away from him by an accident. Kuu didn't quite know the specifics of what had happened but it was Kuon's health that concerned him the most.

…

…

As we arrive at the airport, I can hear the crowds talking about us but I don't care about them. As we look up at a TV screen, it finishes with a story about school attendance in Japan before, fortunately for us, it goes onto a program about how Ren is in critical care but the details are unknown. I feel completely lost as I stand here in Narita airport. I used to know this place so well.

I lead Julie outside where Boss said he'd meet us. We're both traveling light, we didn't have time to pack more than a few outfits in two small suitcases. It wasn't as if we had time to think about each individual thing to pack. I see Boss's care and lead Julie to it where he's wearing a simple costume from the gangster days in America.

I let Julie get in first and she stares ahead at Boss very nervous and uncomfortable. I sit beside her.

"I didn't know that you'd both be traveling here," Boss says and Julie crosses her arms angrily.

"You should have," she tells him. "He's _my_ son as well."

"I needed to tell her," I try to explain. "He's our child. We have a right to be here."

"You don't need to explain," Julie says angrily as she stares at the man in front of us. "He should know that you shouldn't keep a mother away from her child. So, how is he? I only know what Kuu told me and that was a number of hours ago."

Boss sighs and pushed a hand through his hair, he looks exhausted. There's something within me that doesn't feel good but it can't be as bad as I'm imagining it. I lean forwards.

"Whatever it is, we need to know. He's still ali-" I ask as I feel my stomach churn, I can't finish that question. Him dying would be the worst thing. He deserves to live even if he doesn't believe it.

"He's fighting, he's in the ICU on life support but he's fighting," Boss says before looking at us sadly. "He's getting weaker though. I think you two made it just in time to say goodbye," he says and Julie starts shivering. I wrap my arms around her as she breaks completely.

"Please just let us see him," I ask and Julie nods absolutely devastated. We don't know the story of what happened, we just need to see our son."

**End of Chapter One**

**Thank you for reading, reviews are appreciated**


	3. Chapter 2 - Hope

**Chapter Two - Hope**

I stare at the receptionist wide eyed as she looks at me obviously acting as a fangirl. I can't deal with this right now. I want to see my son. I want to be by my son. I stare at her as she looks to Boss. "I'm sorry but only family members ca-"

"He _is_ my family member," I tell her as I slam my hand down on the desk and Boss turns to me slightly alarmed. I don't care. I know that they have to know and that we are ignoring the precautions that Boss made for us but I don't care. I _want_ to be by my son. I try to take deep breaths in to steady myself but my body is shaking and I hear Julie standing there with her arms folded and her foot tapping.

"Is your manager here?" she asks and I look to her. I don't think that hospitals have managers. The girl looks at her about to say the same thing. "I know," Julie says quickly. "The head of the staff, the head physician or whoever is in charge."

"The chief of medicine," I tell her and she nods as she stares at the woman before her. Julie doesn't usually act like this unless she's been pushed over the edge. Most times she's very sympathetic to people who are just doing their jobs but I have the same sentiments that she does. I just want to be by my son. Nothing else matters. I _want_ my son and I want my son to be okay, to be able to fight and survive.

"As I said, only fa-" she says and I lean closer.

"What evidence do you need? Ren Tsuruga is a _stage name_," I tell her despite people turning when they hear that name. "His real name is Kuon Hizuri." I hear the shock from others and I feel like I'm in a damn soap opera. I just want to be with my son as he recovers. I know that he doesn't have a girlfriend or significant other, I might not know a lot about my son's life but I know that much. He needs someone there and we're his parents, we want to be the ones who can sit beside him and keep an eye on the attendants.

"Here," Boss says as he takes out a copy of Kuon's passport that has his actual name on it. The girl takes it before her eyes widen and I'm sick of this, I can feel that Julie is sick of this as well.

"I demand that you let us in to see him. Don't you have a mother," she says angrily as she directs a finger in the direction of the girl. "Your mother would want to see you if you were in a hospital. Wouldn't you want your mother to be with you. You're separating a mother from her child."

"I didn't know," the girl says before tapping some information onto the keyboard and I raise my eyebrow. Is he actually checked in under the name Ren Tsuruga? Is that how the health insurance is managed? I hear the printer and wonder what she's doing but she quickly hands us some visitor passes and I hand one to Julie. She snatches it from me with shaking hands.

I try to catch my breath but before I know it, Julie is pushing me down a hallway that a doctor is taking us down. I haven't see Kuon for months and at that point it was only seeing Ren for a little over an hour. I haven't had a conversation with Kuon in years but I want to see him. I can't not see him. I need to make sure that he's o-kay.

My body freezes as I step into the room where he's attached to numerous machines. I recognize most of them from when I did a hospital drama and I know the injuries one must have suffered to make these tubes and breathing devices necessary. I watch the heart monitor for a while, trying to see how fast his heart is going. It seems normal but as I turn back to him, I can see the hurt.

His body has bandages covering it but the places that I can see have deep purple and black bruising. There are cuts, lacerations, but most of the injuries are under the bandages and I'm scared of what that means. My eyes go to an X-ray that is in a file at the foot of the bed and I can see that there's been a lot of blood in his skull. I freeze as I feel the chill of the cold air and hear his labored breathing.

I don't know what happened but I have never wanted to see my son in this condition. I put my hand on Julie's shoulder but she moves forward, her hand going to Kuon's cheek being careful of his head. She has tears sliding down her cheeks by the bucketload and she sees that his wrist has been bandaged. She reaches for the other hand, trying to hold back her tears but failing. I continue to watch her.

"Hello, baby" she whispers as Boss pulls up a chair and she brings his hand to her lips. I know that she's been wanting to see him for so long and that neither of us wanted for it to happen this way. "I'm here, my darling," she says as she shivers and holds to his hand but I can see how limp it is. I turn to Boss as he studies Kuon and I don't know what to say. I feel tears in my own eyes.

I turn to the doctor panicked, "How is he? What's the prognosis? Is he going to survive?"

The doctor stares at me, studying me and I know that look. It's the look of wondering whether I'm a celebrity or a normal person and the difficulty to see that I'm actually both but if he can only seem to look at me as one thing, it needs to be a father, it needs to be _his _father.

"I don't know," he tells me and I open my mouth to argue with him but I can't seem to find the words. He doesn't know!? He doesn't know if Kuon is sick or how sick is he!? He doesn't know what medicine needs to be administered? How can he not know, this is his job. His job is to know how to treat my son and make sure he recovers. "It depends on how long he stays responsive and how much time it takes for him to gain consciousness. It doesn't look good. The longer he stays unconscious, the more damaging the brain injury."

"I don't care about the brain injury," Julie says and I want to hold her but more than anything, I want to rouse Kuon for her. I need for him to be awake. I slowly take deep breaths in and out before nodding. I kiss the top of her head and reach out to take Kuon's hand from her. She stares at me feeling betrayed but her hold is weak enough for me to take it.

"Whatever you suggest, we want to do it for him," I reassure the doctor and he turns to Boss again. I feel pissed by this. I don't want Boss to be in charge of looking after him. I'm his _father_. I'm the one who is supposed to be taking care of him. I hate how I seemed to lose my rights as his father just because I cared enough about him to send him away.

"It might be beneficial to Tsuruga-sa-"

"Hizuri-san," I say as my eyes narrow and the doctor nods, adjusting his position as if to show discomfort. He isn't allowed to be uncomfortable. We're counting on him to take care of Kuon.

"If his head injuries are as bad as we think, he might need someone to take legal guardianship of him. He might need to have someone take around the clock care of him. From what Takarada-san and I have been discussing, he might benefit from going into a facility where -"

"No," I tell them as my eyes narrow and I look at them firmly. Can't they even hear what I'm saying to them. Maybe they think that keeping up this charade is important but I'm not willing to waive my rights. They need someone to be his legal guardian, to have the power of attorney or whatever, I'm his father. I was his guardian until he was fifteen years old. I can prove how biological our bond is. "I'm going to take care of my son."

"Without you present in -" Boss says and I feel part of my soul hating him. I asked him for help all those years ago, I asked him for a favor. It might be my fault that I didn't have the presence that I should have had in Kuon's life but that doesn't meant that I wasn't trying to do everything in my power to be his father and to help him.

"Don't you dare," I whisper and I hear Julie sob. "Don't you dare tell me that I can't take care of him because I wasn't present in his life when it was your say that stopped me. I am his father. That's more important than any bond. I love him and I'm his father. I don't take that lightly. I don't take the health and safety of my son lightly."

"It's a huge time investment, Shuu-" Boss tries to reason with me and I shake my head.

"You think that I'm not aware of that?" I ask, I scoff as I turn my attention back to Kuon. I'll give up acting before I let someone else take care of Kuon when I could do so myself. I reach out and put my hand on his shoulder. "I'm not leaving him. I refuse to do that. I'm not going to let anyone else take care of him, only Julie and I…"

"If he gets other hel-" Boss says and I shake my head. I can feel myself turning to him fiercely. Can't they hear me or am I not speaking Japanese? I am not giving up on him. He is my son. Nothing else matters. He is _my _son and nobody else can fill my role as his biological father.

…

…..

Three days. It's been three days since we heard about Kuon's accident, three days that he's been on life support, three days since I've actually felt a desire to eat anything which is a new feeling for me. I take steady breaths as I sit down on a chair and bow my head. I see how much Julie has been crying and I just wish that I could do something to take care of them. My two most important people even if Kuon doesn't believe it anymore.

I take a slow breath before hearing it echoed and I blink. I take another breath and hear it repeat. Is there an echo in here or something. I look to Julie and then hear a funny beep on the heart monitor. Hopefully it's something positive, I don't think I could handle it if that was a negative beeping.

I sit up and then walk over to Kuon, my legs feeling very weak and I put a hand on his shoulder. He moves slowly and my eyes widen, he's gaining consciousness? I smile as I see his eyes flicker and he looks at me with those gorgeous emerald eyes. They close a moment later but his breaths start to steady. They are still weak but the strength behind them is increasing.

He breathes again, his eyes fluttering open and he looks at me confused before looking around, his eyes twitching. He moves his hand, it's still limp but he's moving his hands. My eyes widen, he's not quadriplegic, he can move his arms. His hand flops on top of the breathing mask and he attempts to remove it.

I want to stop it. He needs it on until he feels better, until he's strong enough to put it back on.

"D—" I hear him saying before he flinches and Julie has pressed the button to call for an attendant. "D-d-d-d-da-da" he struggles and I nod. I reach over for the mask and put it onto his mouth. Oxygen. He just needs oxygen.

"It's okay," I tell him and he reaches out to take my hand. I squeeze his lovingly, overjoyed that he's awake.

"I'm here, we're here," I tell him before he looks at me confused. "It'll be okay. I promise that I'll make sure it's okay."

**End of Chapter Two**

**Thank you for reading, reviews are appreciated**

**Thanks for the review on Chapter One:**

Kaname671


	4. Chapter 3 - Feeling Weird

**AN: **Kuon will recover but his speech is a little unintelligible because I'm going to be doing it from both POVs. Kuon is speaking normally in his own head but it just doesn't translate. Hope you guys continue to read.

**Chapter Three – Feeling Weird **

I can barely move but my eyes flicker open. My body feels stiff and fuzzy, most likely because of the drugs that I'm on. I can remember the accident. I can remember telling Kyoko my feelings. I can almost remember her rejecting me and running into the arms of Fuwa. I can't remember much after I was hit, just that feeling of pain through my entire body and the thoughts that I might not live through it.

My eyes are blurry when I open them. Maybe it's the drugs. I don't think that an injury would have caused such damage to my eyesight. However, as I do glimpse around the room, I find the blurriness to be off-putting, I hear the sound of my breaths and realize that I'm wearing an oxygen mask. The next thing I realize is that I can feel pain and a weak tingling in my arms but my legs, I can't feel my legs.

I reach up for the mask with shaky hands but I don't have the energy even to pull it from off of my mouth. It's at this point that I can see enough to see the blond hair and the concerned expression on the blurry face of the man I know is my dad. I must be in really bad shape for my parents to be here.

"D—" I struggle although in my head I know exactly what I want to say. "D-d-d-d-da-da…" I continue to struggle. I don't understand. I know that I want to ask him 'Dad, why are you here' but it's not coming out. It's as if my brain can't translate my thoughts into words.

Dad carefully places the mask back over my face, gently making sure that it's on in the best way as possible. "It's okay," he tells me in a shaky voice, he's speaking in English and somehow that's more comforting than Japanese to me right now. I try to reach out for him and he immediately takes my hand, squeezing it to show he's there. I blink at him confused.

"I'm here," Dad tells me as I feel my brain wanting to return to sleep. "We're here," he says and I know Mom has just not said anything to me yet but she is here. "It'll be okay. I promise that I'll make sure it's okay."

I allow my eyes to fall closed again. How come it's his words that I trust much more than anyone else's? Even compared to Boss and Kyoko, Dad will always give me comfort and strength. Even when I believed that he had lost hope in me and didn't love me any longer, I still wanted to please him and make him proud. I misguidedly believed he had stopped loving me, then I had learned the truth about the sacrifices which he had made for me.

He gently smooths my hair down but I can feel pain and I can feel cold from his touch. Still, knowing that they are there gives me the strength to allow myself to go back to sleep.

…

…

I know that for the past twelve or sixteen hours, I've been drifting in and out of consciousness. I can't quite focus on staying awake but I do know that each time I've woken up, at least one of my parents has been here. After all of this time I spent away from them and they still come for me when I need them.

"He's waking up again," Mom squeals excitedly and I hear Dad breathe nervously and feel myself strong enough to push the mask off my face. I still can't move or feel my legs and my arm feels weak. I also feel a strange sinking feeling on the side of my head. I blink as I manage to sit up in the bed and Dad comes to me, placing one hand on my upper back and helping prop me up.

"How are you feeling?" Dad asks, speaking with his American accent and my eyes still aren't really focusing. I don't see everything that was there but I see enough, it's the details I'm missing.

"Fuive" I say and I pause. I meant to say fine, I know I meant to say fine. Why did it come out like this?

Dad's fear shows on his face and he pulls his chair up to the bed, looking at me with a great deal of concern in his expression. "What did you say?" he asks shakily and I stare at him.

"Fui—F-F-Fae…" I don't know why the words aren't coming. I know exactly what I want to say but it's not coming out, is it the medication? Am I on too much medication? "Sor'…ay" I say almost like a robot and they watch me closely, Mom starting to cry as she covers her eyes. "Casheep" I struggle. Did I have a stroke? Am I supposed to be thinking coherently whilst my words are so mixed up.

"Honey," Mom says as she puts a hand on my shoulder and Dad looks at me terrified. "Think about the words which you want to use," she advises. "We love you. You are safe here."

I stare at Dad, "ey y'ere?" _why're you here? _He nods very slowly and I see him mouthing the words that I said to try to figure out what it might mean. He looks to Mom and nods to her and she reaches out for a doctor to come. Dad's eye contact doesn't stray from my own. I see his grave concern.

"Maybe you should lie back down," Dad advises me and I stare at him. What is going on with me? Why can't I say what I want to? Dad gently places the mask back over my mouth and I fall asleep. What happened to my voice? Why can't I speak properly?

…..

…

I feel terrible as Kuon falls asleep again. I don't know what he said and now I'm worried about his head or maybe it's the drugs, it's probably the drugs that he's on right now. I look at him fearfully before making sure to straighten the hospital clothes he's in and tuck him into the bed as if he's a little kid again. I place my hand gently on top of his chest and look at the doctor, switching back to Japanese.

"What's wrong with him?" I ask as I feel guilty about not being able to protect him. He's twenty-one, he's just two years older than a teenager. He hasn't even really experience adulthood for himself. I don't want him to have any permanent damage.

"We'll have to run some tests but, as I said before, brain damage is most probable," the doctor tells us and Julie starts to sob as well.

"You mean, similar to a stroke?" she asks and then grabs my arm as I wrap her up in my arms and stare at my son. My eyes widen and I feel that I'm being kicked in the gut. Stroke survivors can learn how to speak properly again and not slur their words. There are speech therapists out there for this purpose.

"He bruised his brain so we're not sure until we've run some tests how he is mentally but I wouldn't worry," the doctor says and what on earth is he talking about? Of course we should be worried if Kuon has trouble speaking and communicating. Does he think that this is fine? My son might have to go to a speech therapist. I take his hand and sit down, I hope that by us being there he feels loved and not violated.

"Let me get some of the information on assisted living faci-" my head jolts up as the doctor says that and I glare at him without meaning to. I can't believe everyone keeps repeating this to me. Kuon is _not_ going to an assisted living facility. I don't want them to mistreat him because he has difficulty speaking and interacting. How are they going to understand him. I'm terrified they'll take advantage of him.

"I'll allow you to provide me with information," I tell him feeling the firmness in my voice, "but I am taking care of him. He's my child, my son. I put my hand on Kuon's shoulder protectively. "I'm his father."

"His legal guardian says that an assisted living facility would be best," the doctor tells us and I'm shaking. What the hell does he mean legal guardian? I would never give up my rights as his father. I know that Julie is feeling the same way. She's staring at the doctor in the same way I am.

"What the hell do you mean by legal guardian!?" I ask and see Kuon flinch, my eyes widen. I didn't meant to wake him up. "I'm his father! I never stopped being his father!" I see Kuon's eyes widen and I feel that I prevented him from resting. I take my hand off of his shoulder but he grabs to my wrist and I smile at him, putting my hand on his shoulder again.

"Wh'oion" Kuon struggles and the doctor sighs turning to him.

"Tsuruga-san," he says and Kuon blinks before shaking his head. He looks exhausted.

"Hi'ur-ee" Kuon struggles as he takes off his mask and I want to put it back on but I'm waiting for the doctor's instructions. I somehow feel my heart lighten as I head him use his birth name, his true name. I watch him concerned and feel Julie come to his other side. She kisses his forehead and strokes his hair back, smoothing it.

"Okay, Hizuri-san, right now you need a legal guardian," the doctor tells him and in my mind I'm scared that he'll push me away and choose Boss. I bow my head. I don't want to face that kind of rejection from my son. I know I haven't been a good father but I want what's best for him. I hope Kuon knows that I've only been trying to do what's best for him. "We have it listed as Takarada Lory," he says and Kuon looks at me with pleading eyes.

"Do you want to keep him as your emergency contact?" he asks and Kuon continues to watch me.

"I'ike m—m-my da'" he struggles as he stares at me and I can hear the fear in his voice that I'll say no and that I'll reject him. How could that even be an option? "Da'" he struggles as he looks at me and I see that he's trying his best despite the head injury. "'illow"

"Yeah," I nod as I look at the doctor firmly. Julie kisses his cheek. I squeeze Kuon's shoulder and smile at him. I want to do my best for him. I need to know how he can heal. I believe in him. He's going to get better again before the doctors expect him to. He has to go to physical therapy, speech therapy, probably even regular therapy but I want to take care of him. I'm glad that he wants me to take care of him as well. "Please change it to me."

The doctor nods before doing a quick examination over Kuon and then leaves. Kuon turns to me and bows his head and I can see where the top of his head looks a little different but the brain injury is obvious now I know where it is.

"I..ple'" he struggles. "I dona go," he says almost disgusted by the way his voice sounds. I get onto my knees to face him properly.

"You don't want to go to an assisted living facility?" I ask him and he nods. I hug him lovingly, I missed having my son in my arms more than I could even describe. Of course I'm going to be with him when he needs me. "I'm going to take care of you," I tell him and he looks down feeling embarrassed. I hear Julie cough behind me. "We're going to take care of you," I correct myself.

"We love you, Kuon, unconditionally," she says as she holds him in her arms.

We'll make it through this. We're a family. We're finally a family again.

**End of Chapter Three**

**Thank you for reading, reviews are appreciated**

**Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Two**

Kaname671, Lita of Jupiter

AN: They will learn next chapter what happened and they honestly do care about the work that Kuon has done to establish himself as Ren but they are not going to just abandon him when he's hurt this badly. Yeah, it's going to be kind of sad.


	5. Chapter 4 - He'd Protect Me

**AN: **Occasionally I'm going to branch out from Kuu and Kuon but this fic really is about them for the most part. Julie will have a small part in the next chapter from her POV.

**Chapter Four – He'd Protect Me**

I stare at the paper that is on the clipboard I'm holding. I hate this. The doctor has been running tests all morning and Dad has been with me. I know that he probably has better things to do with his time. He's missing work despite knowing how important it is to be in Japan whilst I'm still in the hospital. I probably won't be cleared to fly for a while and so he's going to continue missing work, not fulfilling contracts for me and as I look at the clipboard I realize that the way I've written my name looks like a two year old with a crayon.

I admit that I never did calligraphy in an artistic manner but at least my handwriting was clear and accurate. I used to get praised on it even but now it's a sloppy mess. I can't even speak enough to be understood and now I can't even write down how I'm feeling. I feel tears in my eyes and I haven't cried in years. I've always felt that I should be strong. Ren Tsuruga isn't a man who cries unless it's called for on set.

The doctor has also had me try to trace around some basic shapes. First it was a pentagon and then a square, triangle, circle. I failed on all four of those. How could I fail on a circle? I look at Dad and he takes a look at the paper. I know that this is hurting him maybe even more than it's hurting me.

"That looks like an H," Dad points out trying to sound encouraging. I know that he's trying to keep me motivated but my writing is now hideous. I place the clipboard to the side and bow my head feeling ashamed. This _isn't _me. This has never been me.

Dad turns to the doctor, "I think it's enough," he says before putting a hand on my upper arm in a comforting fashion. Ever since I woke up I've seen his appetite increase again. I know he's worried about me but at least he's eating, it's scary to not see him eat. "Hey," he smiles at me, "It's okay. It'll take time and a lot of hard work, a lot of effort, but I believe in you. If we take it slow, we should get you back to being healthy."

I look down sadly. This shouldn't be me. I'm not this person. I don't know how I became this person.

I take a look at one of the empty chairs, Mom had something she had to do today and I don't blame her for not being here, in fact, I'm surprised that Dad has made sure that either he or Mom or both of them are in the room with me. On the chair though are a couple of books but since my eyesight is blurry when it comes to longer distance, I can't work out the title. Dad follows my eyes once he sees my confused look and goes to pick them up to show me.

"I thought these might help," he tries to explain as he shows me that one is a book on brain injuries after traumatic events and the other is an autobiography from a mother whose son gained a head injury after a car crash. At least my reading is fine. "You're not alone in this," he tries to remind me not meaning to make me feel guilty. "Your mother and I, we're trying to learn all we can about the treatments, the therapies, we're not going to let you go through this alone," he says and I admire his passion, he does truly love me.

I look at him and his determined expression as he watches me. I see his hesitation, his own fear that I won't improve, but most of all I can see from the way that he looks at me that he truly does love me unconditionally. I feel horrible that I doubted him and Mom for such a long period of time. I've seen my appearance, the cuts and injuries from the glass, the scars on my face. Dad appears to see through that.

I bow my head, Dad said that my speech is a little better if I think about each word I want to say very carefully. "D—d-dda'—dd" I struggle before putting a hand to my forehead as I feel it hurting and Dad sits up, his eyes widening as he sees my pain. "M-m-mmy…" I feel as if I'm going to throw up again and there's a ringing in my head, a buzzing but I want to tell him.

"If it's painful then go slowly, I'll be patient," Dad says as he watches me with a lot of concern in his eyes.

I gesture to my eyes and he watches, "bl-bl'—rrr." Why am I having such difficulty getting these words to come out. Dad nods slowly. I wonder if he can even understand a single word I've said.

"Your eyesight is blurry?" he asks and I nod. "Okay, we can see to that," he says before looking back at the doctor who nods. I stare down. I should be used to wearing contacts by now but since my body feels so weak maybe wearing glasses for the first time would be better. Dad smiles and continues to touch my upper arm. I can see pride in his face and his eyes but why? I completely failed on delivering a simple sentence.

"See, the words start to come across clearer when you slow down," he comments and I know he's still attempting to encourage me. "See, you're doing better than others with your condition," he says and gives me a thumbs up. Would he be this way towards anyone else? Would he want to motivate them as much? Show them such encouragement? Would he make the same sacrifices towards someone else or is it because I'm his biological son?

'Th-Th-Than-kks' I mouth and Dad smiles happily.

I don't even know how he'd be if he wasn't at my bedside. I don't want to think that he'd be happier not being here, not having to share in the pain and disappointment that I feel when it comes to my condition. I know it's selfish of me to want him to stay when he probably wants to leave and ignore that this is happening.

He looks to me and surprises me with his next words, "Thank you for allowing me to step in as your father," he tells me. "I really appreciate you letting me help you." I stare at him. Why is he saying this? Why is he thanking me? It's him who has made all the sacrifices. "I love you, Kuon."

…

…

_I feel something push me and the next thing I am aware of is that I'm in Shotaro's arms. My head is spinning as I turn and try to figure out what happened and then time seems to move in slow motion as I see the delivery vehicle slam into Tsuruga-san's…Kuon's…Corn's body. His eyes close and I feel as if he's going to fall but instead he gets pushed upwards and his body is thrown onto the roof of the car ahead of him. The driver attempts to slow down but still has to be mindful of the truck behind it. I see his body crash down onto the hood of the car before he collapses in the road. I can hear the smash of the window from where he landed._

_Did I cause this? Did all of this happen because of me? _

_There is so much blood. There's so much blood coating parts of his body, his face, his clothes and then I see that there is blood coming from his head. If he hadn't pushed me out of the way, would that be me on the ground like that. _

_I immediately break out of Shotaro's hold as he stares in shock despite his rivalry with this actor I'm still in love with. I take off my jacket and place it under the wound in his head. "Please," I whisper as I remember how I had put a cloth on his head when we were younger and he seemed exhausted but this time it's worse. It's so much worse. _

_I can't even see through the mix of tears in my eyes flowing down my face and the blood on his face, his body, there's so much blood, too much blood. "Please, please, please," I whisper as I can hear the traffic has completely stopped and people are gathering around shocked that Japan's favorite actor is lying either dead or dying on the street._

_I place my fingers over his throat and I can feel a pulse, I hear his breaths, ragged and labored. He's putting so much work into just being alive. He means so much to so many people. He's Corn, the fairy prince. He's Tsuruga Ren the man I fell in love with, the man Japan fell in love with. He's also Hizuri Kuon, the son of the man I call my father. I can't be responsible for him dying. _

"_Hold on, please, please I'll never do anything to you again. Please just…just don't die," I beg. My pleas have never really been answered before but I can't have him die because of me. I start to hear the ambulance but is it too late. He's been hurt, he's had to have hurt his neck with the way he landed. He's been scratches, cut, scarred by broken glass and the rocks on the road. His head is bleeding and he's getting paler and paler with the blood loss. I know that the chances are that he'll die, maybe before even reaching the hospital. _

_I see the paramedics rush forwards and I just feel so much pain and guilt. I have the feeling that even if he survives, he won't be the same Tsuruga Ren and that's my fault. He'll most likely never want to see me again. I did this to him. I see the ambulance speed away and hear the people talking. I turn back and Fuwa is still in shock. I grab my phone and see the tear drops fall upon the screen. I have to call the president._

…

….

People are whispering all throughout the LME agency again and I know that several people have blamed me for being at the scene of the accident and have assumed I had something to do with it. I don't know how they got that impression but it hurts how they think that I could have saved him. I think it was Kijima-san who started talking about how Tsuruga-san must have protected me and it was obvious that he was attracted to me.

It wasn't obvious to me.

Even Moko has said that he made it obvious that he really passionately liked me but that I was against love and refused to see it. I think Moko also knows how much I love him despite not really being able to trust him. As I walk down the hallway, I pause as I see a blonde woman I have never seen before. She's tall and wearing fashionable clothes with the same type of stride as a fashion model.

I haven't seen her before. She looks foreign but I can't place the country. I take a step towards her, I don't know who it is but I strangely want to speak with her, to find out more. "Excuse me," I say and she stops. I can tell that she's used makeup to hide the fact that she's exhausted and has been crying. Her eyes are still bloodshot and I think she's about to put those sunglasses from her pocket on. "Can I ask you something?" I say as I drop down into a bow and the woman tries to inhale but there is a shakiness in her voice.

"If this is about a photograph or an autograph then I'll be able to do that later. I am actually heading to an important meeting with the president of this agency," she says and although her words are fluent in Japanese, she doesn't have a full Japanese accent.

"Who are you?" I ask before bowing again. I feel as if I should know. She looks so familiar.

The woman looks me over and then sighs and shakes her head. "Sorry, I'm not as popular here as my husband or my s-s-son," she says as she puts her hand over her heart with that last word. "Hizuri Julienna, but most people call me Julie," she says and my eyes widen. She's in Japan? Is this because of Tsuruga-san?

"Tsuruga-san," I whisper and she raises an eyebrow, not sure how I know that privileged information. "I'm Mogami Kyoko, a coworker of," I see the recognition in her eyes, Father must have told her about me. "Can I…is he…he's alive, isn't he?" I ask since that type of information hasn't been reported on by the media. It feels as if they are covering something up.

"He's alive," Julie-san nods and I feel myself smile with relief. He's not dead. I'm not responsible for his death. "I'm sorry. I know you are important to both my husband and to my son but I'm not comfortable sharing with you his condition. I truly am on my way to the president's office but my husband will love to hear from you. I hope to meet you again, forgive me for my rudeness," she says before giving a small bow to me and I look after her.

"I think you should know," I call after her and she slows her walking down a little, "Kuon's injuries," I call out and she turns to look at me. "I caused them. He was saving me. I should be the one who was hit, not him." I drop down into a dogeza, "I am so so sorry," I tell her and she shakes her head.

"My son is a modern day prince, a knight. He would have never let a girl get hurt by a car no matter who she is. I'd be surprised if he could witness anyone else being killed in a collision," she says and the words sound wrong to me. What does she mean anyone else? Does she mean any kind of person, for instance, is she saying that he would have even sacrificed his own life to save Shotaro?

**End of Chapter Four**

**Thank you for reading, reviews are appreciated**

**Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Three**

Lita of Jupiter

**AN: **Sorry, I just had to write this somewhere. I have two 'The Little Mermaid' fics on this site. I keep getting trolled by people saying, "You suck" and "The plot is good but the writing is bad. Rewrite it." And then today I got another, "you suck" and "you can't take constructive criticism". Is it wrong if I find this hilarious? This person is going onto my work and probably taking about two minutes per story so five minutes out of their day to write these 'hate messages' which I then delete since they post as anonymous reviews. Like, I don't know if they have my story on their favorites or they bookmarked them or they just leave reviews on every fic on this category but it's too pathetic to take seriously. Like, this person has no better use of their time. I'm going to keep being amazed if they keep doing it. If they do It six times then they've pretty much wasted half an hour of their lives. Plus, they keep contributing to my view count for the stories. I'm laughing at them so much because I know my writing doesn't suck and they are just wasting their time. Does that make me a bad person to be laughing at them?


	6. Chapter 5 - News and Decisions

**AN: **I hadn't originally wanted to but I might start making longer chapters, 2.5k-3k in word length to show other character viewpoints. Hopefully this won't be every chapter and only when I want to explore the situation. For example, Julie's POV might be most frequent. I will not be doing Kyoko's POV every chapter as this is about the HIzuri relationships more than anything else.

**Chapter Five – News and Decisions**

Something is wrong. I can't put my finger on it but something is wrong. As I wipe the water from my glasses and stand with the towel wrapped around my waist outside of the shower, my phone rings. I look towards it. It's not going to be good if I reach for it right now and it feels important. I grab some gloves which are nearby and then reach for the phone. It's the president.

"Hello, Yukihito speaking," I say quickly and hear the president have a sad tone to his voice. I don't quite understand it.

"I need for you to come into the office tomorrow," he says in a heavy voice and I don't understand what's happened but I feel sick to my stomach and my gut is turning over and over. "There's some private information to discuss."

"I'm meeting with Ren at ten, I could come before then," I tell him and hear the president sigh again.

"You won't be meeting with Ren at all tomorrow," he says and I'm confused. I pause. I've heard from some other friends of mine who are managers to other actors that sometimes your client will request you to be fired or replaced. I don't want to imagine that Ren did that. I don't know what I could have done that would make the level-headed Ren act like that. I thought that he wasn't too approachable but ever since he met Kyoko, he was opening up and the Ren that I was seeing would approach a problem head on.

"What ha—" I say but the president interrupts me.

"Ren is in the hospital on life support, I believe he's in the emergency room right now receiving a blood transfusion. His parents have been contacted so I want you to wait until his biological parents are comfortable with you there."

I freeze. This wasn't what I was expecting. I don't know how to respond because I've seen Ren defend himself from people in stage fighting, I know his athletic ability, I know he's able to protect himself. He's on life support? He's in the emergency room at the hospital? I feel my knees give out on me. I might never get to speak with him or even see him ever again. I don't even know his proper name. "Please keep me informed," I request. God, damn it, Ren! You have to survive. You have so many people who would be devastated if you didn't survive.

…

…

I watch my son sadly. I don't want to show it but his condition it makes me depressed but mostly out of guilt. I am supposed to be Kuon's _father_. I am supposed to be the one he can rely on and I don't know what the heck I'm doing. All I can try to do is research and learn all about what the doctors are saying so I can find the best treatment for him, so I can protect him. I let my hand push back his hair as I think about how much I love him.

_As I return back from work, I see Julie holding our precious little boy at the door and I smile. I reach out to take Kuon from her and kiss her forehead. The nanny must have left recently. She won't come again until the morning. It's not bad parenting if you have your child be cared for by someone else whilst you have to work, right? Julie taps her foot and I can't tell if she's angry of just impatient but I want to calm her down._

"_Anything happen today at work?" I ask as I kiss her forehead and Kuon pulls on my tie. I grin as I look down at him and his hand wraps around a chain on my neck. I hoist him to my shoulder. "Daddy's got you. You're a great baby, aren't you, Kuon?" I grin. _

"_Kuon said his first word today," Julie informs me and I smile widely. I grin to Kuon, kissing the top of his head gently, hearing that giggle is enough to ease my stress. _

"_Oh my god, that's amazing," I tell them. "Isn't it a little early to be talking?" I ask. I feel like a dunce about parenting but Kuon has always been an amazing child and he's such a handsome kid. He gets that from Julie._

"_Babies can start talking as early as twelve months," she tells me and I smile, Kuon is ten months old, he'll be a year old in February. "Ask him what his first word was," she says with a pout. How can she be upset over the fact that Kuon said his first word today. _

"_What was it?" I ask excitedly. Hopefully it wasn't a curse word or something like that. I would hate for my son to just say the F word or the S word as his first word. Kuon snuggles closer to me and I just feel that his adorable nature is infectious._

"_Daddy," Kuon whispers and my eyes widen. That's his first word. I'm his first word. _

"_He said Daddy," I whisper with tears in my eyes. I turn to Kuon, "You said daddy. You're so amazing. You're so intelligent, Kuon." I smile with pride before turning to Julie who looks upset. "Is something wrong?" I ask and she pouts before smiling and laughing weakly._

"_I just wanted his first word to be Mama."_

I watch Kuon again. I should have been there for him more. I missed the first time he said his first word. I missed so many birthdays and other events in his life because I was working. A phone call wasn't enough on his birthday. I should have physically been there for him more rather than just feel that he should understand how much I've always loved him.

I can't help but to see the injuries and imagine the pain that he's going through. It's going to take years to erase the damage if that. There is a chance that Kuon will never regain control of his legs. I'm glad that they told me that with this type of injury, there wasn't any damage to his reproductive system. It's a rare fact but he'll be able to have children of his own.

As I watch the doctors, I see a nurse pulling away the respiratory device and I turn to him. I raise my eyes as I look at him and reach out to grab hold of the device that could provide Kuon with emergency oxygen. "I didn't agree with you taking this away. He was using it until just recently. I want it here in case he relapses or his condition worsens," I tell them with a rather firm look in my eyes.

"It's just an added expense," the nurse attempts to reason with me and my eyes widen, my eyebrows raising.

"I don't care about the expense," I tell them. I hate to play the rich celebrity card here but I'll do whatever I can to protect Kuon. "I don't care what the cost comes to. I want this device in this room for a couple more days. Unless you tell me that there are people who desperately need oxygen, this equipment does not leave this room until Kuon is better."

"Kuon's lung is mending after the surgery," the doctor attempts to reason to me and I laugh, turning to the side. Aren't they listening to me.

"I'm keeping it here. The fact that Kuon had to even have surgery on his lung means that it could get worse and if it does, he'll need oxygen and I'm not going to watch my son die just because you can't get to the room fast enough." I look at him and the doctor backs down. I don't think he wants to argue with me. If my money isn't enough, my fame should be enough to protect my kid. His fame should be enough.

"How about if we just give Kuon a shot for the pain," the doctor says as he shows me a syringe and a needle attached to it. I take a shaky breath in. They're doctors. They had medical training. They should know what they are doing. I nod and watch as they sink it into Kuon's arm. They move onto other tests but only three minutes after the injection, Kuon is shaking as if he's gone into a seizure and I stand. I want to do something. I've never seen him in this position before. I've never seen him look so helpless.

"What the hell did you do to my kid!?" I yell at them. I want to stop this. I want to ease his pain. I don't like him shaking and convulsing like that.

"Patient has had an allergic reaction to the medication," the doctor notes and I stare at them in shock. What the hell are they doing just saying that!? They should be helping him. They _should _be making this better. How are they such idiots!?

…

…

I feel funny as I open my eyes again and I see Dad looking extremely worried. He jumps up as soon as he finds me awake. My arm feels slightly numb and I can smell the odor of vomit. What happened whilst I was sleeping? My eyesight is still slightly blurry but I can make out enough.

"Oh my god, Kuon," Dad says as he kneels down beside the bed so we can make direct contact. He reaches out to feel my forehead before pushing my hair back. He laughs in relief. "I was so worried that you wouldn't wake up." Why is he saying this, what happened? Did I slip into another coma?

"Wh-wh'a-" I struggle with my words again and Dad smiles weakly.

"You had a seizure," my eyes widen with confusion. I've never had a seizure before and now I had one in my sleep? "Your body had a shock reaction to a pain medication. I won't let them do that to you again. I'm just glad that you're okay."

I can understand why Dad is so fearful but I wish that he wouldn't be. It was a seizure but I'm in the hospital. I just feel guilty for putting Dad in this position.

"Also," Dad says as he finally stands and goes back to his seat. "They've contacted an optician who is going to help you with your eyesight. You might have to wear glasses but don't worry, you'll still be incredibly attractive," he winks at me. I feel weird to hear him compliment me in this manner. I know he's trying his best.

"Da''Da''" I try but it's as if my brain won't come out with the right word for me to say. Dad, moves forwards and I sigh and shake my head.

"They're going to give us a treatment plan," Dad finally tells me and I look at him interested. "They said that there's a slight bit of hope that you'll get back to the way you were. I think we've got to grab onto that hope and use it the best we can." I agree with him. I just hope that I can do it and that I won't let him down. "I mean, that's good, right? You'll be able to try walking and your speech and writing will improve."

I look at him. I hope that he's actually proud to be my father still. I don't want to have disappointed him. I'm going to do my absolute best. I'm going to fight. As selfish as it might sound, it feels good to have Dad fighting alongside me. I finally feel accepted as his son.

"Y-yyo—" I struggle again. I hate not being able to talk but being able to. Pain. There's a pain going through my head and I wince. "Mm-me-merya" I say and Dad gently places a hand on my chest, his eyes still showing his worry for me.

"Slowly," he tells me again and I sigh feeling pathetic about everything. "Just think about the words."

I just want to tell him not to go but I don't know which words to say, I hold to his hand and look up at him in a somewhat broken manner. "St-St-St-ay?" I ask and Dad nods. He smiles at me, nodding again.

"Of course I'll stay," he promises me and I can tell that in his eyes he's 100% dedicated to staying.

….

….

"Kuon is going to continue his treatment, he's going to get better, and I hope that when he gets better, he'll be accepted back to this agency." I try to keep my posture strong as I look at this man I have always referred to as the kidnapper. I lost my little boy to him and now I fear that he has his career and therefore his life in his hands. Kuon loves acting. I don't want that taken away from him. "Kuu and I are going to do all that is in our power. I want for him to still…"

I freeze as I hear a knock on the door and turn back in that direction. Does he have an appointment with somebody else? Is that Kuu? I'm going to be angry and frustrated if that is Kuu because he promised me that he'd stay with my baby, my Kuon. "So that's all the time you can give me."

"Julienna," the kidnapper sighs, "I want to see his health improve more than anyone and I'll give him a chance to rejoin the agency but I want him healthy as well. Everything I have been suggesting is in his best interests."

I stare at him again before shake my head. I'm frustrated and fed up and I don't want to hear what he's saying about assisted living or inpatient care. Kuu and I are perfectly capable of taking care of him even if we have to do so in Japan.

"I wasn't there for my child when he was younger, I damn well am going to be for him now," I say with anger in my voice. I turn and open the door seeing a very professional man standing there. I raise an eyebrow before bowing slightly. "I'm sorry if I inconvenienced you, he's ready to see you now."

The man looks at me, "Are you who I think you are?" he asks before dropping into a deeper bow. I sigh. He seems like a nice guy and I don't want to be cruel just because I'm angry. I smile weakly before shooting a look back at the kidnapper.

"Yes, I'm Hizuri Julienna. I'm sorry. My son has been badly hurt and I must make my way back to be with him," I see the man look at me confused.

"Yukihito Yashiro," he says quickly before looking at me seemingly very confused. "Your son is part of this agency?" he asks and I take slow breaths. Right now I hope that Kuon will forgive me for perhaps exposing his identity. I bow my head, hearing the kidnapper speak at the same time as me.

"No," he says but I've already replied.

"Yes. He works under a stage name though. We didn't want for our careers and our reputations to stand in his way. He's injured now so I have to -" I see the man shaking with wide eyes and a dropped jaw as if he's starting to figure everything out.

"Yukihito is the manager to Tsuruga Ren," I hear the kidnapper say and I feel as if I've just kicked my son in the chest. I look at him in shock.

"Ren is a Hizuri?" the man, Yashiro says slowly and in disbelief. I don't know how to answer that.

**End of Chapter Five**

**Thank you for reading**

**Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Four**

Erza, Kaname671, Lita of Jupiter, Paulagato,


	7. Chapter 6 - A Treatment Plan

**Chapter Six – A Treatment Plan**

I freeze as the doctor hands me some specialized notebooks for people who suffer from brain injury. The lines in all of them are wide spaced, at least three times wider than what a notebook looks like and some of them have letters to trace over, another has shape, another has numbers and then there are a couple which are blank. I look at them and feel there is pain in my eyes. I know that the doctor is trying to do what is best for my son but it's heartbreaking.

I think about the pictures of animals that Kuon used to draw as a two-year-old, three-year-old, four-year-old which he would rush to show me. He would be so excited over his scribbles of a dog or cat. When he was young, I had to wait until Kuon told me what it was so that I could tell but then his pictures got better and so I was able to have discussions about the pictures.

Because of the way that Kuon's hurt, he can't even master drawing a circle without a shaking hand. This isn't the boy I raised but inside I know he's still kind and caring. I have to believe that despite his inability to speak, he's still the same Kuon. Regardless, I will be there, helping him every step of the way.

"Thank you," I tell the doctor with a nod of appreciation as I put the notebooks safely into my own bag. I hate to be the one to try to explain the books to Kuon when he's always been so capable. I look at the new pair of glasses that sit on a small table beside Kuon's bedside. Because of his brain injury, he's now forced to wear glasses until his eyes are ready to receive contacts. They look good on him. Sort of square, black frames, something that looks good on his eyes with transitions so that the sun doesn't get in his eyes. They are modern and fashionable and would suit all of his R Mandy clothes despite him not being able to model for at least a year.

"I wanted to talk to you about his treatment plan," the doctor says as he sits down opposite me. I take a shaky breath in. I don't want them to try to convince me about assisted living again. I look up at the sleeping Kuon and bow my head.

"Okay," I sigh and see the doctor pull out some printed material. I look it over and see that it's for outpatient care. I see that there is a listing of different scheduled therapies with doctors names listed. It looks like there's physical therapy three days a week, speech therapy each weekday, and then some behavioral therapy two times a week. I look at the bracketed sections. They've even scheduled possible therapy for Julie and myself.

I look at the last pages and there are lists of alternative doctors and therapists. I smile as I hold it in my hands, "Thank you," I whisper, my voice shaking unexpectedly. I'm usually a strong man but the fact that this doctor is finally supporting us in our caring for Kuon, it feels amazing. "Are there any diets that we should follow?" I ask and the doctor smiles.

"I'll print you out a suggested diet and a prescription for the drugs for Kuon to start taking," he tells me and I nod in appreciation. I fold the schedule and put it in my bag. I'll talk to him about it when he's awake. The doctor takes a heavy breath, "It's okay if you get angry at him," he tells me and I stare at him but shake my head.

"I won't get angry," I tell him and the doctor opens his mouth to argue. "I'm not going to get angry at him. I just feel depressed and guilty that I can't help him but no, I know that I'm not going to get angry at him."

I take a few deep breaths in and out, I don't remember Boss telling me what happened other than that he was hit by a large truck and could have easily died. I just don't understand why he would be in that situation in the first place. Kuon is usually so aware of his surroundings, did someone push him? "What caused the situation anyway?" I ask. I don't know if I _want_ to know the answer.

"He was protecting a teenage girl who would have had only a slim chance of surviving if any at all. It was his physical strength and skill and the fact that the medical emergency team arrived on the scene so quickly that allowed for Kuon to survive. If you ask for my opinion, I believe the young woman would have died at the scene," the man tells me and I look at him shocked. Kuon saved a life and damaged his own by helping her. He could have died in her place. I nod and take slow breaths. I hope she's thankful for him risking everything for her.

"He's really heroic," I think aloud and the doctor stands but squeezes my shoulder in a comforting fashion.

"Yes," he says slowly. "He is."

….

….

I've been sleeping a lot recently. Ever since the accident my body feels so exhausted but the doctors are talking about me leaving either tomorrow or the day after. I'm a little scared. I don't know if I'll go back to my apartment or if they have other plans for me. I feel helpless and like a little kid again and I hate it. I should be stronger tha- I flinch as there is a sharp stabbing pain in my head.

I feel the pain sweep through my body. It hurts. It's as if there are a million different needles or knives stabbing my body, that I'm a piece of meat that someone has hacked up. I feel a pain in my upper back that I haven't felt since I was a thirteen year old and being bullied and beaten up constantly by people who think that I 'lucked' into the industry.

I hate to show weakness, I should endure the pain but I realize that the IV that was carrying the medication to my body is gone. I look over at Dad and see that he's sleeping. I feel sick again and I grab to the bedsheets, placing my forehead into the pillow and start sobbing and shaking. I don't want to be weak and I definitely do not want to inconvenience Dad.

Pain. There's so much pain that I wasn't ready for.

I don't hear Dad waking up and so I start to cry more. I hate crying and showing weakness but I'm scared of not being able to communicate or ask for help and I don't know what to do with this type of pain. I make a sound showing the pain I'm feeling and hear Dad sit up immediately. I then feel his hand gently pressed onto my back.

"Kuon," he says quickly and I'm afraid to look at him. "Where is it hurting?" he asks in a panicked manner. Everywhere. It hurts everywhere. My body hurts inside and out and I've never been in so much pain. I don't want Dad to worry though. "Can you show me?" Dad asks and I shake my head. I feel his hand gently touch my neck and then he's massaging my shoulders a little. Dad is really showing how much he cares.

"Where's the IV?" Dad asks as he notices that it's gone, they must have removed it when he was sleeping, when we were both sleeping. "I'll get the doctor," he tells me before sitting back on the bed next to me. "Roll over," he almost commands and I don't want him to see the tears in my eyes. I'm not like my usual self right now. "Kuon," he says slowly and I do so. I shiver as he looks at me and brings my head to his knee.

He feels my forehead and I cringe. My headache has worsened. I can hear him breathing quicker, panicking. Soon I hear the doctor appearing in the room.

"What is it?" he asks and I continue to have my head on Dad's knee with my eyes closed.

"He needs the IV back," Dad says as he sees me nod. "He's in a lot of pain. He needs to have some way of enduring this. Medicine or anything that might help," he tells them as he smooths my hair gently. I know he wants to care for me but neither of us know the right way to do that.

Dad places a hand on my side protectively, "can you roll onto your back or is the pain too bad?" Dad panics and I manage to roll onto my back and feel the sting as they insert the needle for the IV once again. "It's going to feel better soon," Dad attempts to comfort me.

"Ggg-o-o," I whisper to him as I think about each syllable slowly so it comes out the best that I can make it.

"It's okay. You asked me to stay so I'm here," Dad tells me as he keeps a hand pressed to my shoulder. "Your mother will be back shortly," he tries to reassure me.

"Ww-o'kk," I struggle again. I hate how my thoughts don't translate. They must think I'm stupid or something. I sound damaged. I don't think my thoughts are damaged just the way they are coming out.

"Work isn't important right now. What's important is that I'm here with you. You're alive. That's what is most important to me." He sits down as the doctors leave and I still have my eyes closed.

"Yo'ed…." My words are getting stuck together again. I don't know if he'll understand. "E'en de' porn w'rk" I'm speaking slowly and concentrating on each words but I can't get them out properly. I hope he doesn't laugh at me or reject me. How come "even death is more important than work" comes out as "Indie Porn Work" !?

"I was wrong," he says. "I'm staying. Kuon, I heard how you got into the accident. I want to tell you that I'm so proud of you for helping that girl. She's alive and safe thanks to you. If you hadn't done what you did, the doctors think she would have died instantly. You're a hero."

"K'oko," I try to tell him and he holds my hand. I know that he still sees me as I was when I was a child, when I was sweet and lovable and I could spend time with him.

"I'm happy that you saved Kyoko," he tells me as he starts to tuck me in. "Please at least try to get some more rest." Haven't I slept enough?

"I'pai'ent ca'" I struggle again and I hear Dad exhale in a sad way.

"No. I know you can make your own decisions but they aren't going to give you as much care as your mother and I can provide. We're going to take care of you. You can rely on us. I know we've not been amazing parents in the past but we are ready to tackle this challenge and support you."

I don't want to be a burden to them. I've put them through so much pain already. I nod though. I want to accept the help they are offering me and be selfish despite the pain that I've inflicted onto them and the belief that they had rejected me. Dad is still the kind, warm, supportive person I've always known but this time he's prioritized me over his work. I squeeze the hand he's offered me but hear someone else appear at the doorway to the room and her voice scares me a little.

"Hello, Father. Is Tsuruga-san awake?" she asks and I open my eyes. I'm glad that she survived but I hate that she's seeing me like this.

**End of Chapter Six**

**Thank you for reading, reviews are appreciated**

**Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Five**

Kaname671, Lita of Jupiter


	8. Chapter 7 - For Anything

**Chapter Seven – For Anything**

"Yes," I tell Mr. Yukihito as I listen to his realization. I hope that he won't spread this to the media. "Yes," I say hesitantly with tears in my eyes. "Yes, he's my son. I wanted to protect his identity so if you coul-"

"Yes," Yukihito says as he faces me and looks between the two of us. "I'm assuming that to come over here, he must be very badly hurt."

"He won't be returning to acting straight away," I tell him feeling my heart hurting. The acting world is a business though and if this man can't represent my son, I shouldn't bind him to that. He needs money for himself and his family. "He's suffering from a traumatic brain injury. He'll have to go to a speech therapist," I tell him. I'm waiting for the reaction but I only see sadness in his eyes.

I can see that this man, Kuon's manager, truly cares about him. I stand still, preparing myself to protect my baby but instead he just looks up at me with a weak smile and adjusts his glasses.

"Please let me know if he wants to see me. I'd like to see him," he says and I pause.

"For work?" I ask and the man has such sadness in his face, the joy has been sucked out from him.

"For anything," he says and I know that what he truly wants is to be supportive. My son has a good friend here.

….

…

Kuon has his eyes closed as she says that about him and I see his mouth move with the word 'no' and I nod. I can't help but gently push his hair back. He's injured and in pain and I just want to see him happy. If he's not ready to talk to her then he's not going to be forced by me. I tuck the blankets around him. I want to make sure he's okay before I even consider shifting my focus. "I'll be right back," I promise him as I squeeze his shoulder and make sure he has the medications and machines. "I love you," I tell him. Each time I say it, it makes me think about how much I've been wanting to say it.

I gesture to Kyoko that we should go outside and I gently slide the door so that it's nearly shut, I need to leave that crack to make sure that he's not alone. I see Kyoko looking up at me in wonder. "Yes," I nod to her. "How did you…"

"I know his birth name," she says and I sigh. I give a weak smile in apology for this. I knew she was smart, I should never have tried using her from the start but I genuinely fell in love with this girl in the way that a father can love their child. No. My love for my child is over one-thousand times greater than my love for her, sorry.

"He told you?" I ask before I let my back hit the wall and I close my eyes, suddenly it's as if all my stress is building. "How long hav-"

"That's why I ran from him, he was trying to tell me that he loved me," Kyoko tries to explain and I smile softly. So he finally managed to gather the courage to say that to someone. He finally learned how to love and this is the result. I feel so sad for him but I believe in Kyoko. I believe he'll open up to her and then this girl will be able to lift his heart again. "I…I'm worried about him. I didn't even realize it was happening. I ran without looking and…and he saved me."

I nod. I've heard the story from the doctor and parts from Kuon as well. I don't even know how to explain Kuon's injuries or his need to have someone to take care of him. I don't want her to think that this is all her fault. Accidents happen and I don't think that Kuon would hold it against her. I gesture to a couple of chairs that are outside the room and open the door a little bit wider so that I can go and sit down whilst also paying attention.

"He won't judge you for that," I try to tell her. "It was an accident and he saved you. He would have hated seeing you get hurt and he wouldn't have been able to forgive himself for that. I mean, Ku-Kuon's nearly died a few times since the accident but he's getting stronger," I see the haunted expression on her face as I tell her that. Maybe I shouldn't have done so. I'm not attempting to make her feel blamed or judged.

"He's your son?" she asks me and I smile as I look away. I am very proud of that fact but I know how safely he has been guarding it, how safely we have all been guarding it. I hate that he can't continue to pretend and that might jeopardize his future as an actor. He loves acting. I just want to see him continue doing the things that he loves.

"Yeah," I smile.

"You didn't really want to make him eat a bag of garbage, did you?" she asks and I chuckle, shaking my head as I think about that argument. I just feel exhausted. I don't want to show that to Kuon though, he'll start feeling as if he's taking advantage of me. That's not something a child should think of when it comes to their parent. I had a small piece of myself die when Kuon said that I loved my son in the past but not now. I love Kuon more than myself, far more than my own self. He's my son, my boy, my kid. Nobody can replace him.

"Listen, Kyoko, he has extensive injuries. He's alive but he's going to have to go through months or even years of treatment and therapy before he can be the man that he was before this incident," I bow my head feeling the gravity of the situation. I don't want Kyoko to see him until he's prepared and I don't know how much to share with her. Will she just understand that -

"Is he angry at me, Father? Does he hate me?" she asks and I open my mouth to argue with her but she has her head bowed and closes her eyes. She must have gotten around the doctors and any security to come here to see him but that doesn't mean that she'll accept his current condition. I care about protecting my boy more than not upsetting her.

"I don't think so but he's had to have surgery, blood transfusions." I turn to her. "I promised to stay out of his life whilst he was making a name for himself in Japan. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't serious. Everything that he's built and worked so hard for is at risk but I have to be here. He's…" I see her wide eyes, full of tears as she grabs onto my arm as if a scared child. "He damaged his spine, he can't move or feel his legs due to the damage. His head injury has caused him to have a traumatic brain injury where he's unable to….do some simple tasks."

"So, he has the intellect of a child?" she asks me and I stare at her in horror. How did she get that from what I was saying?

"No, it's...there's…" I struggle to explain but feel someone pull me up and I see that it's Julie standing there. She's hugging me and crying and I turn to wrap my arms around her lovingly. We're both so exhausted.

"Did they tell you when?" she asks me and I know she's referring to when Kuon gets to leave the hospital but I still haven't discussed with him the living situation yet or how Boss is helping us find a house to stay in and then we're going to make sure Kuon's comfortable there.

"They're thinking tomorrow but I'm going to request that he stays a little longer," I tell her as I forget what I was just talking about. All that really matters is comforting Julie and being there for Kuon. I just want my family to be safe and happy and alive.

…

…

It was three days after Mom wanted me to be released from the hospital that they let me. I know that Mom wanted me to be somewhere where she could care for me. When it comes to Dad, I have the feeling that he would keep me there until I was completely healthy. I sigh. I know that Mom has already explained that she needs to sort some things out for work and Dad has told her that he'll watch over me. It doesn't look like Dad has any plans to go back. Very unlike him.

I close my eyes as I sit in the entrance to where we're going to be living. It's most likely one of Boss's houses which is very wheelchair accessible. He has a lot of property that I'm unaware of. This house is near enough Tokyo to go to all of the appointments but far enough so that people won't follow us to get here.

"Are you doing okay?" Dad asks as he approaches me. I nod, looking away. I don't really like talking that much because my brain doesn't process my words in the ways that it used to. I look across at my reflection. Hopefully the glasses don't give people the wrong impression and make me seem like a poser. Dad puts a hand on my shoulder. "If there's anything that you'd like to…"

I smile to him before sighing and bow my head. I can hear all of the imaginary voices of the critics. Having the fear of being criticized for my new condition, which I'm still learning to accept, is making it more stressful to talk. "Wh-Whwh—" I struggle and Dad kneels down opposite me.

He just looks at me, smiling whilst at my level. He doesn't try to say the word for me like some other people have done but instead just waits there and listens to me.

"Wh-wh-whe-nn," I whisper. I feel like a failure when I speak. My words don't work and I have no idea how. How can I think and put my thoughts into words but I don't like to speak. I see him nod. He's always been my hero but I didn't think that this would be the way he'd act if I was in this position. He's a lot more patient than I was expecting. "yyo wororor'" I struggle and Dad puts a hand to my shoulder.

"I'm not going to go to work until you're better, I promise," Dad tells me and I feel horrible. I never really thought about what would happen to the people around me when I jumped in front of the vehicle. I was just thinking that Kyoko would be safe and she would be able to be alive. I thought that I would die. I didn't think I would become this disabled mess of a man, a drain to my loved ones.

"Get some rest, I'll prepare dinner for us," Dad tells me and I look at him. I nod before rolling myself into the bedroom that they've set up for me. It's the most wheelchair accessible room in the whole house. I manage to move myself onto the bed and look ahead at the TV. I never usually watch TV. I usually just am on the TV and watch the news occasionally. Maybe there are some reruns of Dark Moon on or something. Maybe a good car race or at least a documentary I can listen to.

As I turn the TV on, my head feels like it's gone haywire and there's a weird buzzing. I grimace and try to turn it off before I hear a speaker say the words.

"No sign of Tsuruga Ren. What does that mean about Japan's favorite actor?"

**End of Chapter Seven**

**Thank you for reading, reviews are appreciated**

**Thank you to reviewers of Chapter Six**

Brennakai, Kaname671, Lita of Jupiter


	9. Chapter 8 - Limitations

**AN: **In these haywire brain moments, I'm drawing from my own experience using technology after my moderate brain injury .

**Chapter Eight – Limitations **

People are wondering where I am. People are wondering where the hell I am and I'm not ready to face them like this. I know that the president is holding them back but there are some other questions that they'll have and I'm not ready. I haven't prepared the right answers to give them. I turn off the TV and feel my body shaking. I feel sick, as if my brain has malfunctioned. It's not fair. I already don't have the ability to walk or speak, is my brain going to be this way each time I'm faced with a TV screen.

This isn't fair. All that I've worked for. All that I've sacrificed. All that I've spent years of planning to do and with one moment, all of that can be taken away from me. I take slow breaths before picking up my phone. Again there's that jolt of pain through my mind, the split second of being unable to see, and the damn buzzing but I am able to look through the lenses and enter my passcode.

As the phone unlocks, I feel a pressure within me but it…it opened.

I take a shaky breath in. I know that Dad wanted to put his number in here in case of an emergency. I can still remember how excited he was to be going into my contacts list and how he wanted to make it all perfect for himself. I don't know many fathers who would experience so much joy at entering their child's phone contacts, well, the last time he was in my contacts list was when I was fifteen.

Despite the way that the writing and the lighting is making me want to throw up, I select the contact 'Hozu S' and start a text with it.

_Hey,_

I try typing more but feel the sound grow inside of my head and I can't, instead I just tap send with that one word In and grab a plastic bucket that Dad left for me and start puking in it. I have to take small steps but there's a way I can communicate. As long as I have a keypad I'll be able to talk to people. I hold to the bucket, hating the taste of vomit on my breath. I feel someone crouch on the ground next to me and see Dad take the bucket. His eyes are wide and he watches me in shock. I stare at him and see him place the bucket still in my reach before holding his phone up.

"Did you text this?" he asks almost in disbelief and I nod. He stares at it again before turning to me apologetically, "I didn't think you weren't capable, I wasn't thinking that it's just that…" Dad says and I nod, smiling slightly.

"S''okka-yy" I tell him and he squeezes my upper arm before going to get me some mouth wash and water and a damp cloth. I take the time to rest a little before I pick the phone up again. He returns as I do and is hesitating over whether to stop me or not.

_I'm sorry. I'm tak_

I feel that buzzing in my head again and try to take some deep and slow breaths so that my emotions don't make my symptoms worse. Dad shakily puts the tray down next to me, cautiously watching me. I continue typing.

_-ing so much time_

I send it to him before feeling ill and let my back press against the bed. Too much. It feels like too much. I wrap my arms around myself before feeling my head going blank.

"Kuon," I hear Dad's voice, "Kuon, it's okay. You're going to be okay. It's going to pass," he tells me and I don't know what's happening. I just feel like I'm shaking but it's black and painful and I'm scared and I hate to admit that. I try to relax before hearing Dad say something that makes me stop and instantly feel better. "I'm so proud of you, son."

….

….

I hate seeing his pain. In terms of him growing up, Kuon never had seizures. It wasn't until that time at the hospital that I had ever seen him in this state. Now, whether he knows of it or not, he tends to lose his consciousness and have a seizure at least several times each day. I don't know how to help him but as he settles down, all I can do is to take care of him.

I really am proud of him fighting through all of this. He isn't dead. It's a huge accomplishment.

I look at the text which he sent me and sigh. I don't know how he can believe that. I'm his father. I'm supposed to take care of him. I want to take care of him as I haven't been for the past five years. I gently check his breathing and his temperature, hot but not dangerous. I tuck him into the bed, careful when my hand goes near his legs.

I smile at him despite the pain he's been going through. "Sleep, okay? Get some rest. I'm making us some food but I'll come check on you in a little bit," I promise him as I dab at his mouth again. Despite him being the most popular actor in Japan at twenty-one, he is still my little boy and I'll still take care of him now just like when he was sick as a little boy. "I love you," I tell him as I gaze upon him.

I just want him to get better but as I pick up my phone I get glad to see he's communicating with me, maybe this is the starting point. Maybe him being able to send this is proving that he'll recover. He's my son, he's Kuon, he's strong. Once his head starts feeling better he'll be able to use his phone a little more or a tablet or computer.

I taste the recipes for the soup stock. I'm starting to get to know Kuon's preferences again and I get to navigate from there. I know that I don't want Julie to force feed him this time, he's not strong enough to endure that. At least I can have her help me cook. Kuon prefers things not to be sweet. He prefers more savory tastes. He prefers it to have a nice tasting stock but not too fluid. I'm excited that I get to learn these things about my son but I hate that he's not able to tell me himself.

I look at the text again as memories appear that remind me of when Kuon was learning to write and to read and other developmental skills. I don't agree with the thoughts behind this message and I need to find a way to prove to Kuon that it doesn't matter how busy I am, I want to be his father and unfortunately, he's not married. I wonder if his wife would have done this for him, Kyoko or not. That doesn't matter now, it's not as if it inspired another fic idea to an author with far more than one-hundred active fics. No, I have to get my thoughts centered on Kuon once again.

I try to look over the dietary plan that the doctor provided for me. It's fun to cook with my son even with so many limitations on what he can eat and what he wants to eat. I'm just thrilled for him that he has found a way to communicate. I can see that he's thinking those same things inside of his head but the doctors think that his brain damage is making the production of the language suffer. At least when he can control the headaches a little easier, he can prove how very intelligent he still is.

I watch the noodles boil and the time seems to be going by steadily before I freeze and drop back. I hear the sound of something moving and I smile as I hold my phone to me and let the noodles simmer in the stock and add the beef. I walk over to Kuon's bedroom where I see him pulling himself into the wheelchair. I'm glad that he's moving around but it breaks my heart when I see the difficulty he's going through.

"Are you okay?" I ask as I look at Kuon nervously, trying to smile as I see his strength but I'm still his father. I still get to be concerned and care about him. He nods slowly and picks up the phone. I reach a hand out to take it from him but hear him cough, attempting to speak slowly.

"Fa-f-fa-fav'r?" he asks me with his head bowed down in defeat and I walk over to him, facing him as I stand there with open body language.

"Yes," I nod. I'm not sure what he wants to ask for but this is Kuon, I would do anything for him. I mean, I wouldn't murder or do any violent crime but then I don't have to worry about that. Kuon would never _ask_ about that. He takes his phone and then pulls something up on it. A contact listing. I see him showing me the picture of his manager, a man that I only met once in passing and never even shook his hand.

I feel kind of guilty about that. I know that Jules has told me that he knows about Kuon and our relationship and that he's interested in still seeing Kuon but I don't want to have him say no because of how rude I came off the last time. Managers are important people and you need people of every pay classification and job title in the industry.

"Yukihito Yashiro," I repeat before jotting down the information. "You'd like to see him?" I ask and Kuon nods again, he opens his mouth but decides not to say anything. I hope that his confidence isn't completely shattered. "Okay. I'll see what I can do."

…

….

"_Yuki—Yukihito-s-san, you've got a visi—visitor. I'll have th-them wait for you in the pri-rivate waiting room."_

The girl at the front desk said those words to me extremely excitedly without giving me much of a context. However, this woman does often get excited over any kind of foreign musician or actor and there have been some gossiping that I should become the manager for someone else if Re-Kuon has disappeared. I find it disgusting. I don't want to meet with some foreign celebrity whilst there is still hope.

"Oh my gosh," I see an actress in her twenties say with her cheeks turning red. "I don't know why he came to see you but you're really lucky," she tells me and I stare at her as I turn the corner. I see a man wearing sunglasses with his hand going through his hair again and a baseball cap in his hand. He's got on a designer leather jacket and designer jeans and I can only make out a little of the blond hair through his hand.

"Morning," I tell him and the man jumps before putting the cap back on and stands, turning to face me as he takes his sunglasses off and I feel as if my entire body could melt. I have been a fan of Shuuhei Hozu or Kuu Hizuri ever since I was a kid. I can't believe he's standing here right in front of me. That he's requested to see me. I feel my body twitch. Is this real? I mean. I know that I heard the news and I thought that I accepted it but is this real?

I open my mouth to speak but find that he is bowing to me in a low bow and I know I can only meet his level. This isn't proper etiquette. I'm not supposed to be at a higher bow than him. I take a step back and see him rise, his eyes showing the pain and exhaustion that he's been dealing with.

"Yukihito-san," he says as he holds his hand out. "I'm sorry for my late introduction to you. I'm Hi—"

"I know," I say sounding like a fanboy. I feel myself turning pale. Did I sound too eager? Am I bringing shame to myself.

"Thank you," he says before taking a deep breath in. "I was hoping that we could talk about my son. He requested to see you but…"

"I want to see him too," I tell him thinking about how much pain Ren has been going through. I want to be his friend and support him. Maybe we only had a strong working relationship in the past but I want to turn that into a friendship. The man before me, my idol, hesitates.

"You need to hear about his disabilities first. We need him to progress and not fall back," he says before gesturing for us to sit down. "Can I get you anything to drink?"

**End of Chapter Eight**

**Thank you for reading, reviews are appreciated**

**Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Seven**

Kaname671, Lita of Jupiter


	10. Chapter 9 - Friendship

**AN: **Ugh, when did life start getting so busy. So, I don't have that much time for writing anymore. I'm getting a B- in one of my classes (88%) and two of my work colleagues left and one is on a leave of absence so we are down in coverage. Also, I have to go on an anti-anxiety medication. I really want to write this fic so I hope you guys continue to want to read it.

**Chapter Nine - Friendship**

Yukihito-san shakes his head as he sits down. He's still staring at me as if I'm some dream of his, some fantastical being but I should be the one in awe of him. My son truly cares about this man and I have to be careful. Kuon might have the same thoughts and emotions and intellect but he's not the same as he was due to his disabilities. I want for him to understand this.

"My son means so much to me, I stayed away from him in order for him to have a good acting career. However, that isn't possible anymore, not in the way that I would like." I bow my head and he looks at me with a slow nod.

"I understand that," he replies before frowning, attempting to concentrate. "Can I ask why you don't think it's possible?"

I sigh and push my hand through my hair again. "Right now, Kuon is unable to take care of himself. Of course, there are other options such as assisted living or hiring somebody else but he's my kid. I've heard about these facilities and you can't guarantee the type of care that he'll get. With my wife and I taking care of him, we know that he's getting the best help we can offer and he's also near people he loves. I hate to say it but Kuon needs to be cared for, he won't survive if he's not."

Yukihito stares at me, I know he's trying to understand what I'm saying. He's always known Ren as a very capable person with skills that athletes would be jealous of. The way in which he was hurt makes that very difficult. However, the texts have proven to me that he's the same inside just trapped in a body that has been incredibly hurt physically.

"What are his main injuries?" he asks and I pause, "If you're comfortable with telling me."

"When his head was hit, he suffered a traumatic brain injury. He's still building on his simple motor skills when it comes to using any type of writing tool, although he can from complex thoughts he can't speak without difficulty, his spine was hurt meaning that he can neither feel or move his legs, he is able to use some technology in very short amounts of time to communicate but if he looks at a screen for an extended period of time, he gets painful headaches and his eyes hurt and he can throw up or even have a seizure. He's truly suffering right now but he did ask to see you." I tell him and I see him turning those thoughts over in his head. I haven't even mentioned the surgeries he's had and the blood transfusions. I don't want to get angry at Kyoko but I have the feeling it's her fault.

"What happened?" Yukihito asked after a long time of thinking this through.

"From what I've been able to gather," I sigh. I don't want to show any frustration towards Kyoko. What happened was an accident. Kuon _chose_ to save her life. I exhale, bowing my head once again. "He confessed to Kyoko Mogami that he loved her. She felt intimidated by that for personal reasons and ran into the middle of the road. A large delivery vehicle almost hit her but Kuon pushed her out of the way. This meant that it hit him instead. Doctors have told us that nearly anyone would be dead but Kuon continues to survive. After he was hit, he was thrown onto the top of another vehicle and then onto the windscreen before rolling onto the ground. He's had to have a lot of treatment for it." I close my eyes, was this a bad idea? I don't want to get angry even if this man mocks my son and says something nasty about him. I'm his father but I have to keep calm so I can attempt to help him.

"He'd like to see you but right now he needs to be in a loving, supportive environment. He's still fighting. I don't want for him to give up on that fight." I stand, feeling uncomfortable with sitting down because as much as I'd like to be calm and relaxed, I'm not. I know he's in good hands with Julie but I want to be with my son.

"I'd like to see him too. I would never want anything to hurt him. I can be respectful," Yukihito attempts to reassure me and I smile. I bow my head and try not to cry. This entire thing is taking its toll on me as well but I can't blame Kuon for this. I'm usually a very strong man but the fact that this happened to my child is enough to overwhelm me.

"Thank you. Are you available tonight?" I ask him and he nods. I write down the phone number and address on the back of a business card and hand it to him. "Thank you for being supportive of my son," I tell him and he nods.

"Of course."

….

…

I feel absolutely hopeless as I look at the practice paper that I used in therapy today. This was my first meeting with the man who is supposed to help me regain my speech and writing skills and I can't help but think that he considers me stupid now. The president was fortunately able to get nondisclosure agreements with all of the doctors but I'm not sure how long that would last.

I look at the paper where I was supposed to use a marker to draw a circle. Seems simple enough. Apart from my motor skills make my attempt at a circle look like a drunk monkey drew it. I could visualize what I wanted to draw but for some reason, every time I tried to make a curve, my brain would stop me and I'd just make some straight lines. Annoyingly, when I tried to trace over straight lines, my marker would somehow change direction so a horizontal line would come out diagonally.

The therapist told me that it was good that I was grasping the marker and able to use it on the paper but a toddler could easily do this better. Even a small baby can grab objects. When it came to speaking, the words took forever to come out and I would skip over letters, stutter, and slur my words.

I have no idea how damaged my brain is but the things I want to happen aren't happening. I was even advised not to text until the headaches stop despite that being the only form of communication I have left. As I stare at the papers, I hear Mom approach me with a warm cup of decaf. I'm not supposed to have caffeine whilst in early recovery and I won't be having alcohol for months.

"You did well," Mom says as she takes the paper and studies it. That's a joke. "You're getting closer to drawing a circle, right now it looks like an octagon but that's good because an octagon has sides." I stare at her. This is not even an octagon. An octagon doesn't have intersecting lines that go off to the side and are this messy and disorganized. I shake my head and bow it. I know that this isn't an octagon either. "Kuon, you're drawing on the paper, you're holding the pen. I know it might seem unimpressive but I'm very impressed," she beams. How can she get impressed by her twenty-one year old son holding a marker with a closed fist. Maybe a one-year-old but someone in his twenties?

I continue to bow my head. I feel a mix of shame and embarrassment.

Mom comes to pull out a chair opposite me. "Aren't you impressed by the progress you've already made? You had a serious brain injury and I know you're still my intelligent, caring, Kuon. I'm glad that you're alive. Things could be much worse," Mom attempts to remind me. I look at the paper again. Worse than this?

I reach for my phone and Mom gently touches my cheek. I was so very wrong to think that either of them had stopped loving me. I can see now how important I've always been to them despite who I was during my teenage years. They're still sacrificing so much to be with me. Mom doesn't stop me from holding the phone but I know she's concerned. "Darling," she whispers as she lets her fingers go through some strands of my hair. "It's okay."

I type on the phone and show it to her, _Should I be proud?_

My head starts buzzing again and so I put the phone down with the screen turned to the table and look at the work that I've so-called 'accomplished'. Mom kisses my forehead gently.

"I would be very proud. You're so strong and such a hard worker," she tells me before hugging me and I can feel her deep breaths. I'm scared that I'm keeping her from something. Mom always had such a busy schedule and I'm just taking up all of her time because I was stupid enough to run in front of a vehicle that would have killed nearly anybody else. I still don't understand how I survived. "Kuon, you're still intelligent but even if you weren't, we would love you no matter what. I missed you so much," she tells me honestly and I hug her back.

"Ww-wwe'rr-he'—nnno-ww" I speak slowly. I always feel like an idiot that it takes me about a minute to get out three words. Still Mom is waiting for me to be able to finish my sentence and I don't see any impatience in her eyes. She's just waiting for me.

"Yes, we're all together," she says as she breaks the hug and kisses my forehead in the way that only one's mother can. She smiles before her back straightens hearing the sound from the doorway. I look at her nervously but she stands up. "It's most likely your father," she says but I swear I can hear two sets of footsteps. I don't know who the other person is and that scares me. I nervously grab the papers, hiding them under the notebooks.

…

…

It's strange stepping into this house. In fact, this whole thing is strange and I don't know how to take it in. It's as if the person that I knew suddenly became someone else. I feel nervous. I know that he was showing more of his true personality since meeting Kyoko-chan but the person he had been pretending to be was my friend…or so I thought of him. I don't want to do anything upsetting.

As I follow Kuu, I can't believe that, I'm _with Kuu Hizuri, _into the living room, my eyes widen as I see an emerald eyed Ren sitting there. He stares at me in shock and I smile relieved. Yes, he's got a fair amount of damage to his face, his head is patched up where his brain was hurt and he's in a wheelchair but he's alive. That's the best thing, he's still alive.

"Hey," I try and he smiles with a weak nod. "It's good to see you. I mean, I wouldn't want to think that you had died from trying to act the hero, the knight saving the damsel in distress," I attempt to joke. I can hear both of the older HIzuri's cautious breathing as they look at me.

Re-Kuon bows his head and laughs. I'm not sure how to react. I would hate to do anything to make him feel worse about his situation. He shakes his head and looks at me, a fashionable pair of thick, square-rimmed glasses on his face. "H-H-Hh-ii" he tells me and I nod. He's struggling and that's one word I never thought I'd use to describe him.

"Hizuri Kuon, huh?" I ask in a friendly and teasing manner. "Well, you had all of Japan fooled. Never would have taken you as Kuu Hizuri's son." Kuon looks at me and bows his head. He seems like such an introvert but suffering with these long-term injuries would do that to anyone. "I'm not annoyed. I understand why you wanted to act using a stage name. I'm just glad that you're okay."

"Mm-my 'eech" he struggles again and Kuu-sama goes and places a comforting hand on his shoulder giving him a slight squeeze of comfort.

"You'll work on it, you'll be able to improve in no time. I've always been scared by the way you tackle new challenges," I tell him and he looks at me cautiously. I sigh, I wish that he wasn't like that, intimidated by me. I look at him and sit down despite not asking for permission. "You have a lot of friends and former colleagues who are worried about you. We all want to support you. I mean, I think that playing the heroic knight didn't pay off for you this time but…at least Kyoko-chan is alive."

He looks to me confused. I've been told that his memories are still there, that his intellect is still there but he's staring through me. "Fff-ri-'ns?"

"Yeah," I nod as I feel a little hurt that he even has to question that. "I hoped that you would see me as a friend. Aren't we friends?" I ask him and he gives a soft laugh, his eyes on the table and I feel as if he's going to ask me what I'm talking about. I don't care about his name or what family he's from. I don't want our friendship to be a lie.

He nods with a smile on his face as he stares at me. "Yy-e-ah," he says slowly and I grin. Is he finally accepting that I want to support him even if he's not acting at this present time? He sacrificed so much and I have faith in him. I just want to be there for him. I think that's all I've ever wanted when it came to him.

**End of Chapter Nine**

**Thank you for reading, reviews are appreciated**

**Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Eight**

Brennakai, Erza, H-Nala, Kaname671, Lita of Jupiter


	11. Chapter 10 - Hot News

**Chapter Ten – Hot News**

I'm happy to have him home with us. He deserves to be around people who love him and who only want the best for him but at the same time, our presence is drawing a lot of attention and I feel guilty that I'm debating over whether to go back to acting in Japan when Ren made such a name for himself. If Kuon was healthy then he would still be acting, I know that much. He's not healthy and so he's not acting. He had to give up that part of his life until he feels better.

Acting is something that makes me feel alive though but taking care of Kuon is also important to me. When it comes down to it, working with Kuon is more important to me than working in front of a camera. As I chop up vegetables for one of the udon recipes that's going to be healthy for Kuon, I steady myself again. I want to improve Kuon's career above my own. I want to help Kuon rather than myself. I just want to put my hard work towards making Kuon feel better.

I sigh and reach out for my tablet. Maybe there is something to distract me from this. I put on NHK news and freeze as I notice that the first video to pop up is about my return to Japan. Of course, that would be what made the top of the list. I'm not even sure that people know Ren is missing. He's definitely ruined his reputation though if Boss didn't make sure that directors knew that he was injured.

I shake my head. I don't want to think about that either. I sigh and scroll down on the page to where I'm alerted to the second top video which is about the accident. How come my son, who could have died instantly is number two and just my return is number one. I don't want for him to ever see this. He's done so much as Ren Tsuruga to escape my shadow. I feel terrible that he has to deal with that once again.

"Darling," I hear a voice from behind me. I turn around to see my beautiful Julienna there. She looks at me a little troubled. Has my behavior betrayed me somehow? No. It is only natural for a father to be concerned about the welfare of his son. She walks over to me and wraps her arms around me. I hear her hum and I know it's not the normal sound of her thinking. I look down at her and see the tears in her eyes.

"Julie, angel?" I ask as I let her head rest on my shoulder and try to wrap my arms around her to bring her comfort. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

"Kuon is fine," she replies. That was my next question. She hums again and looks aside, she walks forwards and then pouts. "Did you see it?" she asks and I blink. Did I see what? "I can't believe someone had footage of that. I thought that the kidnapper wouldn't let it be posted on the internet. Everyone is looking at it."

"Is this about Kuon's accident?" I ask and she pouts but crosses her arms angrily. Was it that bad? I know that Kuon nearly died but that should bring him sympathy instead of judgment. "We knew that -"

"We didn't know how stupid that girl was," Julie pouts and huffs. I blink. So this is all about how _Kyoko_ acted in that situation? Well, we are both very over-protective of Kuon but it wouldn't make sense for him to just let a girl and a girl he loves no less, get killed in a road accident. Kuon is heroic, it's a quality he's always had inside.

"It was an accident," I try to reason and Julie shakes her head.

"He tried to stop her from blindly running into traffic, he got hurt protecting her, then she wound up in the arms of another man. He nearly died and she just runs off to someone else who can protect her. She doesn't even give a damn that Kuon is hurt. She probably thinks of it as some huge joke."

I don't know what she's talking about. I haven't watched the video and Kuon can't explain to me his side of the story. I am curious though. Is Julie really expressing that Kyoko acted like some loose woman who just runs from man to man?

I have to see this video but I have to see it where Kuon won't. The most important part is how he heals after all of this and that involves his psychological healing as well as his physical one.

….

….

I tried to ignore it but it's been so much more than usual, every time I glance at my phone, not only does my head feel like it's going to overload but I receive a hundred or so more text messages or phone calls. I would put my life on the line to estimate that there's close to or over one thousand messages right now or the most that can go into my data plan before it's completely filled. Boss tried to keep the information of my health as private as possible but I suppose it wasn't meant to be.

There are numerous coworkers, producers, directors, staff members who are wondering what happened to me but I know that any public appearance I make will disappoint them. What would be even more painful to me is if they were to start comparing me to Fuwa. I'm not the same person I was before the accident and that might be what they remember.

I don't want to tell Dad about the calls. He's worried about me enough as it is. I just have to face it. I have to know that I'm continuing on with my life and this is the first step to do so. I pick up the phone, ignoring the headache it brings me and select one of my high priority contacts. He's always said that if I ask, he'll accommodate me.

_Can we have tea? _

I smile weakly as I send Boss that message. That is our code for needing to talk about things. I don't ask him very often or on any type of regular or semi-regular basis to talk, in fact wanting to talk for me is quite rare but I'm stuck in a corner and I don't think that Boss will judge me.

_Of course. I can come this afternoon_.

As I read his text, I feel that buzzing in my head again and I reach out for the trash can. I throw up in it, the smell of vomit is nauseating but I got my message to him. He'll know how to deal with this. Before I can even push the bin away from me, I see Dad appear at the door. I don't know how he does it every time. He seems to have a special magnetic pull to me if I ever get sicker or if I cough or am struggling. It's almost creepy how he's right on cue.

He goes towards the bin and picks it up. I struggle but it's no use. Even though Dad knows that I don't like the fact that he feels as if I _need_ to be cared for, he's trying to give me as much love and attention as humanly possible.

"Give me one moment," he tells me before going to change the liner in the bin. When he returns, I can feel the warmth of his hands and the smell of hand sanitizer. He feels my forehead as if I'm still a child and kneels down beside me. "Are you feeling okay?" he asks as he looks at me with concerned eyes. I cough again and reach for my phone, making sure that the conversation between me and Boss is on the screen. I pass it to him and he reads it over twice before nodding.

"If there are things that you don't feel comfortable talking to me about," he says slowly and I push myself up and my back to the wall. I don't want him to feel that way but Dad doesn't have control of the agency which I work for.

"D-Da-Da—dd" I struggle and Dad patiently waits for me. More than anyone he's been the one to support me, the one who is able to wait for me the most. "It—Ittt's no—nott…th—th-att"

"Did you see the news footage?" Dad asks me reluctantly. I look at him confused. What on earth is he talking about? I shake my head and his back straightens. He obviously regrets saying that but I'm not sure why. "Don't worry about it," Dad tries to tell me and I'm just confused over what he's talking about. There's news footage? Slowly it comes together. That's why people have been contacting me, the truth finally came out about where I've been and why I haven't been seen in public. I don't know how far it's gone. I don't know if they know my identity or not. I don't even know if it matters now whether they do or not.

"Get some sleep, okay?" Dad advises me and I stare at him. I just want to know what is going on. I don't have the strength to find out for myself. If anything, Boss will be able to give me the details on what is going on in my own life. As much as I hate relying on other people. I have to know what is happening.

….

….

This is going to be difficult to spin. I never expected for a major news station to be able to find footage of the accident, in fact, I thought that after I silenced the person who hit Ren, there wouldn't be any further problems. Of course there has to be some corrupt government official who is in charge of monitoring traffic who sells this tape. What's worse is it plays out like a dramatic love story and not the type I enjoy playing.

No dialogue can be found on the video but it has Ren talking to Kyoko and then Kyoko running away from him whilst crying, he chases after her until he protects her – he very obviously saved her life by risking his own – but she still winds up in the arms of Sho Fuwa. It makes it seem that Ren confessed to her but she was dating somebody else. If anything, she's cast as the villain in this piece, the one who brought Japan's treasured actor to his death.

If I can get Ren out and center in front of the cameras, the events might be able to be explained but he is having trouble with the media, with bright lights, with talking and listening to language. Seeing him might make things worse as they cast him as someone who became disabled over Kyoko denying him. It's going to be a nightmare though if I can't figure out the best way of telling the story.

As I sit looking out at the window, Ruto approaches me.

"Miss Kyoko is here to see you," he says and I sigh. Can I send her away telling her that I need more time or is it best to see her with a premature plan? If only life could be less dramatic for a change.

**End of Chapter Ten**

**Thank you for reading, reviews are appreciated**

Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Nine

Brennakai, H-Nala, Kaname671


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